Computer platforms often have a pre-defined configuration for its hardware devices that is fixed at the point of deployment. A hardware device may have certain feature such as clock speed, bus width, or other characteristic that differentiates itself from another version of the hardware device. The configuration of the hardware devices in the computer platform typically cannot be changed without replacing the existing hardware module.
For example, a computer platform may have a Intel® Core™ Duo processor with a clock speed of 1.73 gigahertz (Ghz). If an user desires to upgrade the clock speed of the current processor from 1.73 Ghz to 2.33 Ghz or to add the feature of Intel® Virtualization Technology (Intel®VT), the user would have to replace the current processor of the platform by an Intel® Core™ Duo processor with clock speed of 2.33 Ghz and with Intel® VT feature enabled.
There are no avenues currently that allow a secure configuration of the configurable features in a hardware device in a platform. Protection against software attacks on the configuration of the configurable features in the hardware device is important to ensure that no rogue upgrade is performed.